Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – The Islamic Dilemma Explained.

[Author’s Note: Before we begin, I would like to clarify two things. First, when I started writing this, one of my sources was a post from the website Answering Islam that was written by a guy called Sam Shamoun. I had never heard of Mr. Shamoun, and it was only after I had finished writing this paper and was in the process of editing it that I ran across a livestream from Apologetics Roadshow talking about how awful a person Shamoun really is. Apparently, he is not only a horrible person to talk to as he’s become known for cussing out people and calling them slurs for no logical reason, but he’s also done things like beating his wife, using spiritual manipulation to rape his now ex-wife when they were dating, using blackmail and coercion, etc. For these sins, he has not repented and actually seems quite proud of them. After learning about this, I wanted to find a different source, knowing this would be a blog post, and not wanting to endorse this person. However, I found I couldn’t do that as that would require re-writing a large section of the paper, which I didn’t have time to do. Thus, all I can say is please do not support Sam Shamoun. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

That leads to the second thing about this paper. If you’re wondering why the tone is different from many of my other posts, that’s because this is an academic paper that I wrote for this semester’s finals. I was given the option to write a paper about anything I wanted, so I choose the Islamic Dilemma partially because of the Flippin’ Fatwa Friday series. This post may not be as exciting as my other posts, but hopefully this helps equip you guys by giving you a good understanding of what the Dilemma is, why it’s important, and how to defend your own faith. Anyway…on to the Islamic Dilemma.]

Islam is a self-destructive religion at its core, and nothing proves this more than the Islamic Dilemma ⁽¹⁾. First brought up by Syriac Christian, George of Beltan, in the 8^th century ⁽³⁾, the Islamic Dilemma creates an unresolvable issue within the Quran, the Muslim holy book ⁽¹⁾. On one hand, the Quran affirms both the Torah and the Injil (Gospels) ⁽¹⁾. However, because the Torah and the Injil contradict the Quran constantly, Muslims must then claim that they’ve been corrupted ⁽¹⁾. This argument shows a failure of Allah’s foresight ⁽¹⁾, calling into question why he would affirm the Bible if it contradicts or was corrupted. But nevertheless, it’s the first objection Muslims will raise against Christianity, regardless of who they are or what their background is ⁽²⁾. Bringing up the Islamic Dilemma invalidates these claims, questions the reliability of the Quran, and offers Christians the opportunity to turn the tables, showing the reliability of the Bible ⁽²⁾. 

One of the most important things to know before arguing the Islamic Dilemma is the proof that the Bible is true. According to the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy Article X, “We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.” (paragraph 5) ⁽⁹⁾ However, this only goes so far. One can’t tell someone that the Bible’s true just because the pastor said it is. If one uses the Islamic Dilemma to show a Muslim why their beliefs are wrong but can’t answer questions about how Christians know the Bible is true, then it’s no better than taking the Quran by faith. Thus, while the case for the veracity of the Gospels is a cumulative one and all the evidence should be considered together to show that the gospel authors were well-informed, always reliable, and close to the facts, ⁽⁸⁾ there’s some evidence that’s especially pertinent to refuting the claim that the Bible was corrupted. 

 The first refutation of the corruption claim is the thousands of Biblical manuscripts in our possession. Manuscripts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are in our possession, written in different times and places, all predating the rise of Islam ⁽⁴⁾. The Dead Sea Scrolls are especially important, giving us the archaeological basis for what the prophetic scriptures of Jesus’ day looked like and proving that what we have today are the same ⁽⁴⁾. This alone is solid evidence that the Bible is reliable, but let’s take a deeper look into the manuscripts. 

Though we don’t have the original writings or autographs ⁽⁷⁾ (which were likely destroyed from constant wear and tear from copying) ⁽⁹⁾, the Bible has gone all over the world ⁽⁶⁾, and we have thousands of Biblical manuscripts ^(9,7,6). Over five thousand of them are the New Testament written in Greek ^{(9, 7, 6)}, with many major portions of the New Testament dating back to 300 AD ⁽⁶⁾. The ubiquitousness of these texts has allowed us to recreate the original texts very accurately ⁽⁹⁾ as we examine and compare the manuscripts ⁽⁷⁾. Moreover, the sheer number and age of these early manuscripts is a feat in itself, as most classical books survive in copies no older than 900 AD, and copies are scarce, as in the case of Ceaser’s Gallic Wars or Herodotus’s Histories ⁽⁶⁾. This is because early scribes were very meticulous, having to make exact copies of Scripture, a task that involved counting every letter in a book, noting the middle letter, then doing the same for the other copy to ensure it matched ⁽⁷⁾.  

Already, we can see that the Scriptures are more trustworthy than the Quran, as they predated it by several centuries ⁽⁵⁾. Thus, the Scriptures of Muhammad’s day were the same as today’s ⁽⁵⁾. Supporting this are some notable manuscripts, such as P45, P46, P52, P66, and P75, which all date to the late 2^nd to early 3^rd centuries ⁽⁹⁾. P45, while originally having 200 pages, now has 30 and contains the fragments of all four Gospels and Acts, showing the early church had started collecting the cannon books into single books ⁽⁹⁾. P46, has eight of Paul’s letters, as well as Hebrews ⁽⁹⁾. However, the one that best attests to the reliability of the manuscripts is P75, which contains almost the entirety of the Gospel of Luke and very closely resembles the 4^th century Codex Vaticanus ⁽⁹⁾. This is especially important because the Codex Vaticanus also contains almost the entire Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament, with many scholars considering it to be the most trustworthy New Testament manuscript ⁽⁹⁾. The main question, then, amongst scholars is which variant readings are correct ⁽⁶⁾. 

 With over five thousand New Testament manuscripts, it makes sense that we have many variants, but they are rare ⁽⁹⁾. According to academic and pastor, Peter Gurry, the chance of finding a distinct variant is one in every 434 words copied ⁽⁹⁾. Moreover, the differences between manuscripts are minimal, not affecting the Bible’s teaching or meaning ⁽⁷⁾. They’re split into four categories ranging from “neither meaningful nor viable,” “viable but not meaningful”, “meaningful but not viable” (i.e. typos), or “meaningful and viable.” ⁽⁹⁾ However, because of the redundancy of the Bible, every major Christian belief is well represented across many texts, not jeopardizing any Christian doctrine ⁽⁹⁾. Because of this, the doctrine of preservation – that God has kept His Word intact regarding its original meaning and has sovereignly overseen the process of transmission – has much to support it. ⁽⁷⁾

As though this wasn’t impressive enough, the books of the Bible survived for thousands of years despite attempts to destroy it. For example, Antiochus Epiphanes ordered the Jews to destroy the Scriptures in 175 BC ⁽⁶⁾. Another example is Diocletian’s order to have all Bibles burned and Christian leaders executed ⁽⁶⁾. Yet the Bible miraculously survived this.  

This preservation of the Bible was also prophesied by Jesus himself. In Mark 13:31, Luke 16:17, and Matthew 5:18 and 24:35 ^{(7, 10)} He said that the Bible would never pass away ⁽⁶⁾. But those weren’t the only times the Bible’s preservation was prophesied. Psalm 119:160 says, “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” (NIV) ⁽¹⁰⁾. Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (NIV) ^(7, 10). This is important, because when the Bible talks about God’s word being preserved forever, it meant that it would be preserved forever here on Earth, not just in some vault in Heaven ⁽⁷⁾. This is further supported by the fact that the Gospel must be proclaimed throughout the Earth, which can’t happen unless the doctrines and truth of the Bible was protected ⁽⁷⁾. Unless Scripture was preserved by God, there wouldn’t be a way to ensure the Bible’s consistency ⁽⁷⁾. Surah 6:115, 18:27 affirm this, with Allah promising that no one can corrupt his word ^{(2, 1, 10)}. 

Furthermore, by examining the eyewitness testimony of the Gospels, you can figure out if the apostles were lying, deceived, or honest, and from there, decide if they’re trustworthy ⁽⁸⁾. In this case, one of the biggest things working in the gospel authors’ favor is how they got many difficult facts right ⁽⁸⁾. In a world before the internet and cell phones, getting facts right about things that were going on the world was a minefield, as news was transmitted orally ⁽⁸⁾. Thus, the details in the Gospels could have only been recorded if the authors were there during the events they wrote about ⁽⁸⁾. The Book of Acts also helps build this case, as it was written by Luke, and testifies to his historical reliability and meticulousness ⁽⁸⁾. This then proves what the Bible says in verses such as Psalm 19:7, 2 Timothy 3: 16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, and John 17:17 ⁽¹⁰⁾. 

The last bit of relevant evidence for the reliability of the Gospels is their connection to secular historians and events ⁽⁸⁾. This is important, as it gives us verification that the things the authors wrote about happened, from Joseph leading Mary and Jesus out of Israel to Egypt to the Jewish hand washing customs that Jesus referenced ⁽⁸⁾. Perhaps the best example of a secular historian confirming events happening in the Gospels is Josephus. He not only tells us about Herod’s sons splitting Judah, leading to an exodus into Egypt (as recorded in Matthew 2: 13-22 ⁽¹⁰⁾), but he also confirms that John the Baptist was executed by a military officer for criticizing Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law ⁽⁸⁾. He confirms the dates for when Jesus began his ministry based off when the Temple began being built and when Tiberius started his reign ⁽⁸⁾. Another historian, Aristeas of Mormora, referenced the Jewish custom of washing their hands in a letter to his brother, Philocrates, and Philo of Alexandria (a contemporary of Jesus) further confirms this. ⁽⁸⁾ 

Now that the Bible has been shown to be reliable, what does the Quran say about it?  

Being based off the Bible, the Quran, naturally, affirms the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, written by Moses) ⁽³⁾, the Psalms, and the Gospels (a.k.a. the Injil) to be the word of Allah ⁽³⁾. The Injil itself is interesting, as while it could mean the entire Christian Bible, but historians believe it could also mean any content commonly assumed to be part of the Bible ⁽³⁾. Verses of the Quran such as Surah 3: 3-4 ^{(1, 10)}, 5:56, 58, Surah 18:27 ^{(4, 10)}, and others confirm the Bible. This is because according to 10 verses in the Quran (Surah 6:155-157; 42:7; 3: 3-4; 6:92; 2:89; 5:48; 10:37; 35:31; 46:12, 30) ^{(5, 10)}, the Quran was given to the Arabs in and around Mecca so they would have the Scriptures in Arabic and thus, have no excuse on Judgement Day ⁽²⁾. They believe the Quran is a return to the truth of God after people had been writing false Scriptures (Surah 2:79) ^{(5, 10)}. In Surah 10:94, 21:7, 5:47, 68, and 29:64, Allah commands Muhammad and other Muslims to tell Christians and Jews that they believe in the same revelation of Scripture and, if they have any questions about Muhammad’s teachings, to ask the Jews and Christians for confirmation ^{(1, 10)}. This, alongside the ten verses affirming the reliability of the Bible, implies that the Scriptures in the possession of the Jews and Christians were intact during the time of Muhammad ⁽⁵⁾. Thus, the Quran, as Allah’s word affirms the entirety of Scripture, not just parts of it, as some try to argue ⁽⁵⁾.  

However, amongst these verses confirming the reliability of Scripture, the Quran has several verses and passages (i.e. Surah 2:59, 75-79, 140, 3:71, 77-79, 4:46, 5:13-15, 41) that allude to the textual corruption of the Torah and Gospels over time ^{(3, 2, 5, 10)}. Muslims claim that the Torah was a revelation to Moses, not a text written by him, and that the Jews failed to preserve it in its original form ⁽³⁾. Supporting this teaching are hadiths from people like Ibn Mas’ud, who record that Muhammad said the Children of Israel wrote a different book and followed it ⁽³⁾. So how can Muslims reconcile the veracity of the Scriptures while they also have these verses? How can Allah’s words be corrupted if none could corrupt them as said in Surah 18:27? ^(1, 10) 

This is the Islamic Dilemma, the irreconcilable contradiction of Islam. The first issue with the verses listed about the supposed corruption of the Bible is that they never imply that there were no correct Bibles in existence, or that everything had been corrupted or lost forever ⁽²⁾. The first bit of evidence for this is that in verses like Surah 3: 3, 84, 4:48, and 5:43-48, both the Torah and Injil are confirmed to be intact during Muhammad’s time, as they’re both affirmed ^(5, 10). Moreover, Surah 5:15 (and verses like it), never speak to the physical corruption of the Bible ⁽⁵⁾. Rather, it speaks about the recitations of the text to those who were ignorant of what the text really says being corrupted ⁽⁵⁾. This could only happen if the Jews had the correct scriptures in their possession ⁽⁵⁾. Otherwise, they couldn’t have “passed over” it for a false teaching ⁽⁵⁾. Further, if the Quran was speaking of the physical corruption of the text, why wasn’t more specific language used? ⁽⁵⁾ 

Surah 2:77-79 has the same problem, charging the Jews not with corrupting the text, but with concealing parts of the Torah from those who didn’t know the Scriptures ^{(5, 10)}. It says in 2:77-78: “Know they not that God knoweth what they conceal and what they reveal? And there are among them illiterates who know not the Book but (see therein their own) desires and they do nothing but conjecture.” ^(5, 10) This raises a myriad of questions like “Was the written Torah only kept by the elites?” and “Were they only keeping the Torah from illiterate people?” ⁽⁵⁾ After all, the Quran affirms that the Jews were a literate people group ⁽⁵⁾. Going back to 2:77-79, the Quran says that there were people who wrote a false book and claimed it was from Allah, but verse 2:78 confirms that those people were illiterate and hadn’t read the Scriptures that came previously ^(5, 10).  

Scholars on the topic have also noticed this issue and agree that it refers to corruption in recitation. Wikipedia, talking about the Islamic Dilemma writes, “According to Martin Accad [Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Arab Baptist Theological Seminary] doctrines of corruption primarily referred to corruption of the meaning and interpretation of the Biblical scriptures among Jews and Christians, as opposed to the text itself. However, more recently, Reynolds [Gabriel Said Reynolds, Crowley Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at Notre Dame] has argued that while corruption of meaning was invoked by interpreters, this was done for the rhetorical purpose of arguing against Jewish and Christian interpretations of their own scripture, while Islamic authors typically did also believe in the corruption of the text itself (tahrif al nass).” (Paragraph 12, sentence 1-2) ⁽³⁾  

Supporting Accad’s position are the verses in the Quran saying the Christian and Jewish scriptures were misunderstood, misused, or misinterpreted, further confirming that they did not believe the Bible was false ⁽²⁾. Instead, these quotes assume the Torah and Gospels the Jews and Christians had at the time of Muhammad had been uncorrupted revelations, which means that the versions talked about in the Quran were also uncorrupted ⁽⁴⁾. The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm this fact, predating the Quran by about two thousand years and reading the same as today’s Old Testament ⁽⁴⁾. There would’ve been no reason for the Jews and Christians to follow the revelatory works of their books unless they were uncorrupted because those books would’ve no longer accurately reflected the original teachings ⁽⁴⁾. 

Ironically, despite this dilemma, the use of the Bible in Muslims commentaries have become common since the 1800s, usually in interfaith polemics and apologetics ⁽³⁾. For example, Muslim Hebraists use the Bible to interpret the Quran and other Islamic holy books, and some commentators use the Bible to provide exegetical depth, usually relying on the canonical Arabic versions ⁽³⁾.  

The second issue for the claim that the Bible had been tampered with is the fact that the Quran claims that it predicts the coming of Muhammad in Surah 7:157 ⁽¹⁾. Muslims use several Biblical verses to support this claim, such as Deuteronomy 18: 17-19; Acts 3:15-23; John 14:16-17, 16:12-13; Isaiah 42:1-4; and Habakkuk 3: 3 ^{(3, 11)}. However, the problem with these claims is that they were all taken out of context. To start with, Deuteronomy 18:17-19 says, “The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.” (Deuteronomy 18:17-19) (NIV) ⁽¹¹⁾ (Ironically the next three verses are a test for false prophets.) ⁽¹¹⁾ The issue with this is that God is talking about raising up a prophet like Moses, which has been interpreted by Christians as referring to Christ, since He, like Moses, is a mediator between God and Man. The same applies to Isaiah 42:1-4, which was fulfilled in Matthew 12:15-21, Matthew 3:16-17, Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:32-34, Matthew 8:1-4, and Luke 7:11-17. ⁽¹¹⁾ 

As for the supposed prophecy about Muhammad in John 14:16-17, every time the word “advocate” is used, it refers to the Holy Spirit or Jesus ⁽³⁾. This is supported by three other verses in John and once in 1 John 2:1^(3). John 16:12-13 best shows this: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come.” (John 16:12-13) (NIV) ⁽¹¹⁾ However, in spite of these obvious contradictions, Muhammad continued teaching that the Bible foretold his coming, once again, never questioning the inerrancy of the Torah or Quran, but rather questioning and rebuking the Jews and Christians for sins committed against their books ⁽⁴⁾. 

The third issue for the Islamic Dilemma is the contradictions between the Bible and the Quran themselves. In the Quran, Jesus is not God, but a prophet ⁽²⁾. He never died on the cross, nor was He resurrected from the dead ⁽²⁾. It also teaches that everyone will die and be judged by Allah based on their deeds (Surah 3:185), that none can intercede for them (Surah 2:255), and there is no Trinity (Surah 4:171) ⁽¹⁾. This contradicts the teaching that God is a Trinity (Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Corinthians 8:6), Jesus is God (John 1:1-14), Jesus died on the cross (Mark 10:32-34, 45), Jesus rose from the dead (Luke 24), and Jesus is our intercessor (John 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:5) ⁽¹⁾. Because these two books differ on these issues and many others besides, the Quran can’t be the Arab version of the Torah and Gospel ⁽²⁾. Muslims assert this is all a big misunderstanding, that Paul changed the Bible, but the evidence clearly does not point towards this explanation ⁽¹⁾. 

Because of this, there is three-way debate amongst scholars about how much the early Muslims really knew about the Bible. The first view is the maximalist position, which asserts that Islamic authors had a great knowledge of the Bible, with Martin Accad publishing a four-part paper with a list of 648 gospel quotes across 23 works, including al-Biruni and al-Biqa’i ⁽³⁾. The minimalist position suggests that Islamic authors had a very superficial or limited knowledge of the Bible until, at earliest, the 15^th century ⁽³⁾. The middle ground acknowledges that many Islamic writers used biblical texts, but more direct quotes are rare, and those quotes do not equal direct engagement with the Bible, with familiarity of the Bible becoming widespread in the 1800s ⁽³⁾. However, examples of Biblical quotes in Islamic texts are mostly secondhand, erroneous, or not knowledgeable about the Bible (i.e. Abu Bakr al-Razi saying the Gospels assert God has a thousand names), or authors like Al Shakani and Al-Baghawi thinking the first verse of the Torah was the Basmala (“In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate) ⁽³⁾. 

To try to fix the contradictions between the Quran and the Gospels, some Muslims will resort to claiming that the Injil is a different book given to Jesus, not the Gospels ⁽¹⁾. However, this is the fourth problem as there is no historical backing for this theory from Christian, Greek, Roman, or Jewish historians or any references to it from 200 AD to now ⁽¹⁾. The Quran also doesn’t support this theory as Surah 5:47-48 is very clear that the Injil was a book in the hands of Christians ⁽¹⁾. This is confirmed by other verses and surahs saying that the Jews and Christians were literate, knew what they were talking about and were possibly only corrupting their oral recitations and hiding verses ⁽⁵⁾. The only books that could’ve been messed with were the Talmud and the Apocrypha ⁽⁴⁾. 

Tying into the fourth problem is the fact that the Quran never elaborates on who the “illiterates” are ⁽⁵⁾. There are three theories. The first is that the “illiterates” were people who had written down corrupted oral recitations ⁽⁵⁾. The second was that pagans who worshipped a moon god also called Allah wrote down things and claimed it was from him ⁽⁵⁾. The final theory is that it’s more general and ties into the “Surah-Like-It” challenge, referring to anyone who attempted to write a surah like one in the Quran ⁽⁵⁾. 

Even worse for Islam is the fifth problem: what Islamic scholars have to say on the matter, especially what scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir Yazid ibn Kathir, Abu Ja’far al-Tabari has to say ⁽⁴⁾. His work is the premier reference point for anyone wanting to understand the Quran’s meaning and his comments confirm the Bible was not corrupted and is the word of God, existing uncorrupted during the time of Muhammad ⁽⁴⁾. He said that the Torah was “the Torah that they (the Jews) possess today.” (paraphrase of paragraph 14, sentence 2) ⁽³⁾. 

 Al-Rabia (a female saint in the Sufi branch of Islam) and Ibn Abbas (Muhammad’s cousin; known as “the Sea of Knowledge”) that further support al-Tabari’s position. In an article from Sam Shamoun on Answering Islam, “… Al-Rabia said: This verse [Surah 2:113] refers to the people of the book at the time of Muhammad. In interpreting this verse, he said: Allah revealed this to the Muslim believers to let them know that both Christians and Jews ignored the commandments of Allah in their books regarding Moses’ prophethood, and Allah’s commandments to the Children of Israel. And the Torah, which the Jews believe in its authenticity, testifies to the truth, which was revealed in the Injil of Jesus’ prophethood, and Allah’s commandments…yet both sides told each other that each one of them has nothing to stand on despite that testimony of their books. So, the most high (Allah) revealed this verse because what they claimed against each is not true.” (Paragraph 5) ⁽⁴⁾. 

Ibn Abbas is also quoted. In his commentary on Surah 2:113, “…Ibn Abbas said: they both read in their own book the truth which testify against both of their claims; meaning the Jews denying Jesus even though THEY HAVE THE TORAH, in which Allah took an oath from them through Moses to believe in Jesus. And in the Injil testified about Moses and what was revealed to him in the Torah as being from Allah.” (paragraph 10) ⁽⁴⁾ 

 Additionally, commenting on Surah 5:68 (Paragraph 29) ⁽⁴⁾, Ibn Abbas says: “Rafia bin Harithah, Salam bin Mishkam, Malik bin Al-Sayf, and Rafia bin Horimylah came to the messenger of Allah and said to him: O Muhammad, do you not claim that you are a follower of Abraham and his religion, and you believe in our Torah, and you testify that it is the truth from Allah? The messenger of Allah said: YES. But you denied what is in it and went astray, and you were supposed to reveal to your people, and for that I am innocent of what you have done! They said: We follow what we have between our hands, we follow the truth and the guidance, and we do not believe in you and will not follow you. That’s why Allah revealed this verse.” (Paragraph 30) ⁽⁴⁾   

Because of this, we know Al-Tabari had no choice but to become aware of the Dilemma ⁽⁴⁾. He was aware that it was impossible to follow the Torah, Gospels, and Quran without contradictions, however, he didn’t jump to the usual claim of corruption ⁽⁴⁾. Instead, he seemingly opted to ignore the problem ⁽⁴⁾. Had he not, perhaps he would’ve realized that by the Quran’s own standards, Christians are the true believers, not Muslims ⁽⁴⁾. 

Overall, Islam is a self-destructive religion. While Christians and Jews have been blessed with the books that comprise the Bible that have been preserved from disaster and corruption for thousands of years, the Muslims have been cursed with the Quran, a book based on a faulty view of the Bible. However, though this is a curse for the Muslims, the dilemma that the Quran’s affirmations of the Bible and direct contradictions of Biblical teaching create is a blessing to Christians as we can use it to challenge the Quran and prove Islam to be false. 

Bibliography:

“Al-Tabari’s Notes on the Veracity of the Bible” https://answering-islam.org/Quran/Bible/tabari_tafsir.htm Author: Shamoun, Sam. Written: Unknown. Copyright: Unknown. Accessed: 10/6/25 (4) 

“BibleGateway.com: Search for a Bible passage in 75 languages and 233 versions.” https://www.biblegateway.com Written: Unknown. Author: Unknown. Copyright: Unknown. Accessed: 10/9/25. (11) 

“Corruption of Previous Scriptures” https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Corruption_of_Previous_Scriptures Author: WikiIslam. Written 2/24/21. Copyright: Unknown. Accessed: 10/6/25 (5) 

“Extrabiblical Evidence for the Veracity of the Gospel History” https://crossexamined.org/extrabiblical-evidence-for-the-veracity-of-the-gospel-history/ Author: Mclatchie, Jonathan. Written: 10/6/21. Copyright: 2025. Accessed: 10/6/25. (8) 

“How We Got Our Bible: Manuscript Tradition” https://crossexamined.org/how-we-got-our-bible-manuscript-tradition/ Author: Leasure, Ryan. Written: 5/16/22. Copyright: 2025. Accessed: 10/6/25 (9) 

“Islamic Dilemma — What It Is, Key Verses & Clear Summary” https://islamicdilemma.com Author: Unknown. Written: Unknown. Accessed 10/6/25. (1)  

“Is the doctrine of preservation biblical?” https://www.gotquestions.org/preservation-Bible.html Author: Unknown. Updated: 1/4/22. Copyright: 2002-2025. Accessed: 10/6/25. (7) 

“Islamic view of the Bible” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_the_Bible Author: Wikipedia. Written: 9/10/25. Copyright: 2025. Accessed: 10/6/25. (3) 

“The Islamic Dilemma: A Game-Changer for Conversations with Muslims” https://gcdiscipleship.com/article-feed/the-islamic-dilemma-a-game-changer-for-conversations-with-muslims Author: Powell, Laura. Written: July 31 (year unknown). Copyright 2025. Accessed: 10/6/25 (2) 

“The Holy Quran Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 2025” https://quranyusufali.com Author: Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. Written: 1946. Copyright: 1946, 2008-2025. Accessed: 10/9/25. (10) 

“The Preservation of the Bible” https://answeringenesis.org/the-word-of-god/the-preservation-of-the-bible/ Author: Matthews, Mike. Written: 4/1/2011 (last featured 5/25/2014). Copyright: 2025. Accessed: 10/6/25 (6) 

Until next time,

M.J.